Trey announced “Dan” as the winner of the contest from the night before, as Dan was the first to call Mike’s hotline to name Dust in the Wind as the song that was teased. Trey announced the prize was a private vacuum solo from Fish to Dan. As homage to the movie Old School (which also featured Dust in the Wind), Trey encouraged the crowd to “earmuff” it while Dan received his prize. To bring the rest of the crowd in on the joke, Phish subsequently debuted an abbreviated version of Dust in the Wind. The song began as a solo vacuum piece but Trey jumped in on vocals to assist the struggling Fish. Trey teased Come On (Part One) before DWD. DWD contained San-Ho-Zay and Psycho Killer teases and was unfinished. Catapult was sung over the jam that emerged from DWD. Charcter Zero also contained a San-Ho-Zay tease.

Show Reviews

Although I'm a huge 2003 fan, this is not the most exciting show. Having said that, the first set has a nice Gin -> Mango that, while it won't change your life, is very well played. OTOH, the DWD -> Catapult that opens the second set is required listening. Probably a top 5 version of this song and proof that the high points of 2003 are right up there with the mid-nineties.

This has to be the most underrated, least talked about Hood ever. I suppose that's because it follows a very different path than your typical hood. Fans usually expect a stellar Hood to have a slow, steady build up to a euphoric crescendo of a peak. This one really "peaks" in the middle section, and the end of the jam is actually a short, very delicate a beautiful IMO end to the jam.

At first it was just the tangent in the middle that grabbed me, and while that 2-part adventure is still the mind-blowing peak for me, after numerous listens the entire jam, from the drop to the end, is a masterwork in its own right.

RIDICULOUS replay value here, if you give it a chance and a few listens to really grow like a fungus on your cerebral cortex.

I like how the one reviewer says that Phish is "spent" after the DWD, but then goes on to gush about the Hood being one of the most interesting versions he's ever heard.

Twist jam also, pretty excellent pointilist ambience.

My favorite part of the show is the Roggae which is only mentioned in these reviews because someone says its rough.

Well it's 2003, Phish not remembering how to play their songs should have been a given by this point. That said, the Roggae is probably the single most atypical version of the song. There are other versions (mostly in 2010 & 2011) with more exploratory or psychedelic jams, but this one has a totally different structure to the ending of the jam and I find it really powerful. Whereas your usual Roggae will crest and then dissolve into a brief pause before the large power chords, this one works the jam up into those chords and uses them as the crescendo. It works phenomenally and I wish they'd give this style of Roggae a spin again. It reminds me of the 7/31/99 Simple in comparison to an average Simple. Similar breathtaking move upwards right when the jam would usually end.

Phish wasted no time showing their fan base that their triumphant return to one of their most hallowed venues would be exactly that: triumphant. A smoldering combo of Axilla > Rift, both seemingly played with an extra dash of Cholula, really kicked things off nicely. The energy was palpable through the AUD and you could feel the crowd frenzy-ing after the vocal-trill ending of Rift. Bathtub Gin comes in next, and so far in 2003, we are batting 1.000 with Gins. This one, the shortest to date (in 2003), leaves nothing to the imagination. A precursor of sorts to the styles of Gin we hear today, this one wasn't an exploratory, transcendent groove-machine a la 7.9 or 2.28. or 2.2.22 or 2.14. Instead it was a "From Concentrate" Gin that was most likely 60% ABV, if not more. This thing is fierce and has a bite! It builds into a hot climax with plenty of Trey-led crush-ness happening. What a wallop! Then it fades ever so briefly into a Gin-them fakeout and the jam subsides into a soft landing, while never breaking beat, and eventually morphing very nicely -> Mango Song, What a way to start the show! Axilla > Rift, Gin -> Mango! Holy Crap! Mango was played very well and kept the impeccable flow raging at Flood Stage level. Roggae was a PERFECT compliment to Mango, and this one, although not an all-timer, fit the set perfectly. This Roggae has more of an edge to it - still pretty and fluttery - but also crunchy. I dig. I am not the biggest fan of Discern, but its placement here was not that bad. It fit the slow-down trio-motif of Mango, Roggae, Discern that countered that frenetic trio motif of Axilla, Rift, Gin. Phish is showcasing very good balance in this set. Discern, song wise, is fine. It's just that damn jam section. They just kinda wander for a bit, with no leader or even direction. Oh well. Not the worst choice in the world, but definitely not the best. A wacky I Didn't Know reprised the comedy from the Kansas show, complete with THE FIRST EVER VERSION OF DUST IN THE WIND PLAYED ON A VACUUM. Show notes gold right there. This little break provided a big uptick in energy for the set, got us all in a feel-good mood again, and we were ready for more! A highly cost-effective Bowie drops in next. Listening in the moment, I was very impressed with the fury of this Bowie in such a short time frame. A total song length of barely 11 minutes, this Bowie uses every second to scorch the Wisconsin countryside. Wow! A handful of truly locked-in, blazing apexes sends us off into setbreak with a smorgasbord of high-quality set 1 jams and very good flow... even if the set itself was a little short.

Sometimes all you need is one song to define a show. Even with the quality of Set 1, this Down with Disease eclipses the sum of everything else in this show. Holy cow is this thing good. 26 minutes of everything your heart desires, this DWD is simply fantastic. It starts off burning phosphorus. Untouchably hot. Wow. Untouchably isn't a word, but that doesn't mean it cannot describe the heat the fist 5 minutes of this jam produce. They are just killing it. The band shifts into a DWD-themed fakeout, like Gin, before taking off into another dimension entirely. They converse musically for about 4 minutes, trying to figure out the next phase of this journey, and eventually lock into this almost surf-rock, up-tempo groove. This is one of my favorite segments of summer. It is so good. Bouncey. Peppy. Spunky. All with an edge. The jam really takes on a persona of "I Mean Business" and the business is prohibited! Dance moves arose that were so controversial that I can't legally describe them to you. SO here we are, 17 minutes in and BAM they just keep going. The jam wave crashes onto an ocean of hard-rock, demented riffing that will make you flail your arms and bang your head grunge style. Great stuff here. The jam rampages onward as the Catapult lyrics are recited over the slowly fading, yet still fiery jam. Finally, the flame exhausts all fuel and... is there anything left? Is anyone alive? The fact that you and other fans survived this jam is a testament to the heartiness of Phish fans. What a jam!!! Bug is beautifully played and placed, as we needed a cool down moment. Even still, this extended Bug really got after it, with Trey obviously feeling inspired from the gargantuan DWD that preceded it. Secret Smile was uninvited, and did not fit the bill for a follow up song to Bug. Two Versions of Me really didn't help get us off the path that Secret Smile started. It was a fine version, but a mid set trio of Bug (even though this was a great version), Secret Smile, Two Versions of Me was, uh, underwhelming considering that groundwork that DWD laid. A grimy, dark, dissonant Twist takes us into outer space, but still lacks that fire that DWD burned so richly. Perhaps that DWD did exhaust all the fuel...? This Twist might pique your interest if you;re into super dark and discorded Phish, but for me, this version is forgettable. A rollicking but almost premature-feeling Character Zero closes the set with serious musical fireworks... but it was almost a "too little too late" type of version. A huge, exploratory Hood pops into the encore slot with great gusto and surprise! This version follows the pipeline of almost all 2003 Hoods, meaning it builds into typical Hood fashion, then reaches a false summit (where you think they're gonna explode into YOU CAN FEEL GOOD) but instead they drop down into a second groove. Though similar into pattern, the feel and energy of this Hood is a little lacking (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, because I find 2003 to be a great year for Hoods), so by comparison it isn't as strong as previous Hoods, but it is still one kick-ass encore!

Agreed with the previous post; while this show is nothing spectacular, this DWD>Catapult is fucking amazing! Energy sweating off the venue, melting your face, mind-left-body intensity and it is well-worth the download! The Gin is real good, too, followed by a good Mango. Mucho banter in the first set...interesting to say the least. David Bowie, while rages, still doesn't hold a light to many finer versions of yesteryore. Sadly, and with a heavy heart, I must say that after the astronomical DWD>Catapult, this show goes way, way, waaaaaaaayy south. Twist provides a super-spacey, escapist route, but the Zero is lackluster and the Hood is 'OK'.

The first set is kind of a wash besides Roggae but it's nice to hear Discern. Gin is not bad but it does not compare favorably to others from the period. Down with Disease anchors the show with a ferocious jam segment that is at times unfocused but any time a jam -> to Catapult is fine by me. Following that up with Bug, Secret Smile, and Two Versions of Me seems redundant, but they're played well. Twist has a dark, effects-driven jam and the Type II stuff in Hood is really on point. This is not one of the stronger shows of the tour but Roggae, DwD-> Catapult, and Hood are swell.

Alpine will always be my second home. It didn't really seem like Phish was actually back until they came here. The sun shining and the "Axilla" opener felt awfully good. Otherwise this first set didn't do a whole lot for me; nothing wrong with "Gin">"Mango" but I wouldn't call it essential listening, and "Rift" and "Roggae" and the composed section of "Bowie" were all ugly and "Discern" did not exactly impress me, although the finale of "Bowie" was pretty smokin'. The funny thing about the second set is it played out a lot like the 3.0 formula: one monster "DWD" aaaaaaand they're spent. It's no mystery why "Secret Smile" and "Two Versions" aren't still being trotted out, eh? "Twist" was a pleasant drift through space, "Character" was "Character". But "Hood" was a revelation. Sure, the composed section was a little hard on the ears, though nowhere near as bad as the first year's worth of 3.0 versions. But (as Kenny Powers notes above) the jam blew me away; probably still the most unique, exploratory "Hood" I've caught live. Right in the middle it reaches a viscous, full-band molten groove almost independent of meter, the kind of stuff that the boys only rarely touch on since the mid-90s, the shit that makes you forget where you are. Just maybe 30 seconds of hose and a peak and then a really unusual denouement, and honestly this little taste of old-school glory was worth more to me than that whole huge "Disease". Felt like Phish was back, for tonight anyway.

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